The European Union (EU) on Monday handed over a detailed restoration plan for the deteriorating City Hall. The work is estimated at US$4.3 million (GY$894 million), but the National Trust of Guyana has cited a high figure –G$1 billion.
It is expected that work will be done on three buildings City Hall owns.
The Comprehensive Restoration and Conservation Management Plan for City Hall came under a G$64 million European Union- funded project which was formed out of collaboration between the Georgetown Mayor & City Council (M&CC) and the National Trust of Guyana.
It has special focus on the physical and structural state of City Hall and the City Engineer’s Building.
receiving the dossier from EU Ambassador Jernej Videtič
Minister with responsibility for Culture, Social Cohesion Dr George Norton, formally received the dossier, which has several thousand pages. The document meticulously details City Hall’s restoration plan, and it is being seen as timely since the 1889 Gothic revival structure is falling apart.
“The onus is on us to preserve and cherish all that it has to offer. When City Hall is restored to its breathtaking glory, we must never allow any of our other cites to deteriorate in such a manner ever again,” the minister appealed.
Cardinal International Development Director Andrew McLoughlin, who contributed to the restoration projection, has said that once the schedule is followed, rehabilitation should be completed by 2020, and he estimated that it would cost around US$4.3 million to restore City Hall. It was, however, the National Trust Head, Nirvana Persaud, who said that when other costs are factored in, the figure could reach GY $1 billion. She once again appealed to local operatives, including the private sector, to support the restoration initiative.
“We do not yet have funds to implement this plan. We have to work together to raise the funds that we need, and a lot of the material and expertise [is] all here,” she said.
Meantime, Head of the EU Delegation in Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videtič, observed that stakeholders should look towards correcting the errors that had led to the structure’s current state.
“Now is not the time for blame-sharing and reliving the mistakes of the past, but the people in the driver’s seats have to take full responsibility, or City Hall will crumble if they don’t,” the EU Ambassador pointed out.
The building has suffered much neglect over the years, even though millions of dollars have been allocated to facilitate repairs, including some G$20 million in 2012.
Town Clerk Royston King told the gathering that the City Council has made attempts to restore City Hall and other structures within Georgetown.
This newspaper understands that money could be sourced from Central Government, as information disclosed is that funding could be factored into the Culture Department’s 2019 budget as Dr. George Norton is moving to engage Cabinet on allocations for restoration. Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, has received digital copies of the dossier. (Shemuel Fanfair)
